Corrine StokoeHave you ever REALLY wanted to watch a movie or a show, but there were a few parts that were inappropriate, or had content that you didn’t really want your kids to watch – or even YOU didn’t feel comfortable watching?! We used to pass on a lot of movies and shows that were trending, and sometimes it was a real bummer because we heard they had AMAZING content, but they had one or two inappropriate scenes or language we didn’t want to hear. Enter: VidAngel.
VidAngel has been a HUGE game changer. Neil and I use it almost every Friday night when we’re trying to figure out what to watch for our favorite “takeout sushi & movie at home” date night. We’ll look at VidAngel and see what movies are trending, and we can choose just about any movie and filter out as much or as little as we prefer. Let’s just say it has been a BIG TIME movie-life upgrade in our home!!
Table of Contents
What is VidAngel?
VidAngel is a streaming platform that will allow you to stream content you’re already paying for like Netflix or Prime Video or HBO, and skip any content that is distasteful based on your own preferences. Say goodbye to to nudity, profanity, sexual scenes, and other content you don’t really want to see when watching your favorite movies or shows!
How does it work?
On your phone or tablet, you’ll download the VidAngel app in the App Store. After logging into the app, it will show you a list of all of the available shows and movies that you can choose to watch.
You can have standard filters set up, so that whenever you watch anything on VidAngel, you have your general filters of things you NEVER want to see in any of the shows or movies you’ll watch. In our VidAngel standard filters I can say I never want to hear “X” kind of curse words, or I never want to see nudity, or I never want to see a sexual scene, etc. Then when you upload any movie or show, your preferences will automatically be applied!
This means that anytime you filter out bad language, any scenes that contain bad language will be muted. And if you want to filter out violence or sexual scenes, those clips of the movie or show will be skipped over. No more worrying about what is about to pop up or making sure you quickly mute your sound when an inappropriate word comes up!
If you want to even further filter a specific show or movie before you turn it on in front of your kids, then you can add additional filters to that specific show. Neil and I don’t need to filter out childish language when we’re watching just the two of us, but when our kids are around, that’s something that we don’t want our kids to be exposed to yet.
Picture your kid going to school and calling another kid a “weiner” on the playground or “fart face.” We’ll save that for when they’re old enough to know not to do that!
VidAngel is a tool that you can use to alter anything to what YOU want for yourself or your younger kids! So much flexibility and so much more freedom when watching movies/TV!
What does VidAngel filter?
You can filter as MUCH or as LITTLE as you prefer. It will always show you at the top of each show or movie “what you’ll see” and “what you’ll hear” in that specific show/movie, and then you know IF and WHAT you want filtered out. The filters get really in-depth! You will be given the options to filter out any kind of profanity, racial slurs, nudity, disturbing images, violence, sexual scenes, and more.
It will also identify how many times certain words will be bleeped out and how much of the movie you’ll miss by cutting specific content or language out. We’ve filtered out A LOT of sexual scenes and curse words in the movies and shows we’ve watched, and we’ve never ever felt like we missed out on any of the plot or that it didn’t flow!!
What platforms can you use VidAngel on?
When I first signed up for it YEARS ago, I was a little bit overwhelmed. But in recent years they’ve completely revamped it, it has really changed for the better and it’s SO easy to use! You can use a phone, a tablet, iPad, or any other device, along with some type of smart TV that has streaming capability (this includes a Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, etc).
We even took a tiny little Amazon Fire Stick with us to Hawaii, and then used VidAngel to watch things with the kids in the Airbnb. And then when we got to the hotel at Aulani the last few days of our trip, we used Chromecast because that’s what the hotel had and it was SO easy to stream all of our shows or movies we wanted to watch.
VidAngel does have its own exclusive content, but you have MANY, many more options to choose from if you already have a streaming device you watch movies or shows on. Streaming devices that are compatible with VidAngel are: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Movies Anywhere, and HBO Max.
The way it works is if you login to your streaming platform, it will link to your VidAngel account and then you can start filtering! So if you have a Netflix subscription, then you can watch Netflix and filter ANYTHING on Netflix. If you have Amazon Prime Video, you can filter anything on the movies you’ve rented or bought on there, and any other streaming devices you already have subscriptions for!
We only have Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, and with those two streaming platforms, we’ve been able to watch just about anything we want! Basically you’re filtering the content that you’re already paying for.
What does VidAngel cost?
VidAngel costs $9.99/month. And believe me when I say it’s worth EVERY penny. It’s one of our most used and most valued monthly subscriptions we have in our family! And you can cancel your subscription anytime!
What happened with the VidAngel lawsuit?
VidAngel underwent a million-dollar lawsuit a few years back and WON. Basically the lawsuit was because of their years of copyright litigation, which resulted in agreement with Disney and Warner Brothers and paying them back a $9-million penalty. Ever since VidAngel came back, they are bigger and better than ever!
Happy binging!
I LOVE knowing my family and I can watch any movie or show, without being afraid of the content on the screen. Family movie nights, date nights, and even binge watching Netflix is SO. MUCH. BETTER with VidAngel on our side! You can sign up here if you want to add the goodness of VidAngel to your life, too!
How do I stop my subscribtion? If this is the place. Please let me know so and so, so I do not have to stop you from taking out my money.
You’ll need to log into your VidAngel account and do it there! -Kourtney